This invention is directed to a game played by two people having a track interspaced between two projectile launchers. Situated on the track is an object which is capable of reversing direction in response to being struck by a projectile launched from either of the projectile launchers.
There are many games such as a penny arcade shooting gallery wherein an individual tests his skill and accuracy in shooting by attempting to hit movable objects. In this same vein there are games such as that described in German Pat. No. 337,714 which issued June 17, 1921 where an individual pits his skill against a mechanical device. This game is constructed to include a track having a series of bumps or waves therein and a gun attached to one end of the track which is capable of firing missiles toward the other end of the track. On the other end of the track is placed a wind-up tank-like device having a target positioned on the tank which is coupled to the drive mechanism of the tank such that if the target is hit by one of the missiles further progress of the tank toward the gun is halted. The players skill is measured by how close the tank approaches the gun before the player can sucessfully stop the tank.
This type of game can be improved by utilizing two projectile launchers each under the control of a separate player such as that described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,891,216 to Ensmann et al. In this type of game each player has under his control a pistol styled gun and attached to the gun is a cowboy shaped target. The guns, in turn, are each independently attached to a long member which is pivoted about the center of the game. This allows each player's gun and target to be moved in an arc along the respective ends of the gameboard. The target in this game because it is fixed ultimately to the long member has one degree of freedom, i.e., it is movable in respect to the arc which is prescribed to it by its attachment to the gun and the long member.
While the above noted games are considered to be interesting to play and entertaining, it is felt that there is a need for additional games of skill between two players. Further, in any game in which missiles or projectiles are fired and which might be played by small children, included in the game should be features wherein use of missiles or projectiles is done in a safe manner. Because as times change children's interests are directed to new folk heros and fantasies, a game which may be interesting to one generation of children because of their social backgrounds may not be interesting to a subsequent generation of children. This, in effect, limits the social acceptance of a game by one generation of children from that of a preceding generation.
Thus, while cowboy and indian games may have been in vogue at one time, current exposure to television and movies at the present time have generally created a different consciousness in today's children and their games are presently most interesting when they utilize the current themes.